Pneumatic machine for cleaning fabrics.



No. 780,517. PATENTED JAN. 24, 1905.

Z. B. & S. G MEAD.

PNEUMATIC MAGHINE FOR CLEANING FABRICS. APPLICATION FILED-JULY 29, 1901.

g 4 sums-sum 1.

U 1NV N T0Rl/ .PATENTED JAN. 24, 1905.

' z. B. & s. G. MEAD.

PNEUMATIC MACHINE FOR CLEANING FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1901 4 anus-sham 2.

11v VENTORS,

. AM w w No. 780,517. PATENTED JAN. 24, 1905.

' Z. B. & s. G. MEAD.

PNEUMATIC MACHINE FOR CLEANING FABRICS.

A'PPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 29, 1901.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

@Miau No. 780,517. .PATENTED JAN; 24, 1.905.

z. B. m. G. MEAD. PNEUMATIC MACHINE FOR CLEANING FABRICS.-

APPIQIOATION FILED JULY 29, 1901.

I 4 sums-sum 4' I v I I v F 12 1:1 r f? 8 7- G D 2 13 INVENTORJ UNITED STATES Patented January 24, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ZELMA B. MEAD AND SEYMOUR Gr. MEAD, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGN- ORS TO THE AMERICAN PNEUMATIC CARPET CLEANING COMPANY, OF

CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PNEUMATIC MACHINE FOR CLEANING FABRICS- SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.780,517, dated January 24, 1905.

I Application filed July 29, 1901. Serial No. 70,073. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ZELMA B. MEAD and SEYMOUR G. MEAD, citizens of the United States, and residents of the city of Cincinnati,

5 in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Machines for Cleaning Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is primarily intended for the cleaning of textile fabricssuch as carpets,

- rugs, and the likebut is broadly applicable to many other classes of textile fabrics and to certain classes of fabric other than textile;

I5 and the invention consists in certain peculiarities in the construction and arrangement of parts and in certain novel combinations of elements, substantially as hereinafter described, andparticularly pointed out in the 3 partly in elevation, of one end of a machine embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is an elevation of all the lower portion of that end of the machine which is opposite the end shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view 35 of a machine constructed in accordance with our invention, showing a carpet being delivered therefrom. Figs. A and 5 are side and edge views, respectively, of a form of support suitable for the two rollers at one end of the 4 machine for the upper conveyer. Figs. 6 and 7 are side and edge views, respectively, of a form of bearing suitable for the brushes. Figs. 8 and 9 are side and edge views, respectively, of a bearing suitable for a feed- 45 roll at one end of the machine for the lower conveyer. Figs. 10 and 11 are side and edge views, respectively,of a form of bearing suitable for the feed-roll at the other end of the machine for said lower conveyer. Figs.12 and 13 are side and end views, respectively, of a bearing suitable for the intermediate rolls and their antifriction-rolls. Fig- 14 is. a detail longitudinal sectional view through the end. portions of two adjacent sections of a brush, showing the means for supporting the same. Fig. 15 is a similar view through the end portions of two adjacent sections of afeedroll, showing the means for supporting the same. Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the means preferred for delivering air to and for operating the air-discharging pipes.

The same reference characters designate the same parts in the several views- A designates a supporting-frame adapted to the necessities of the machine. At each end of this frame there is journaled a feedingroll C, borne by any suitable bearing-devices. The roll C (shown at the right-hand end of Fig. 1 and left end of Fig. 2) is shown as supported by an arm or plate Q, (shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9,) having a foot Q attached to the frame A, and a head Q formed to provide a bearing for the shaft of said roll, while the companion roll C (shown at the left end of Fig. 1 and right end of Fig. 2) may be supported by a similar bearing device R, (shown in detail in Figs. 10 and 11,) having a hollow head R to receive the shaft of said roll, and'also having a foot R through which pass suitable means for attaching it to said frameA.

Suitably arranged with relation to the main frame A is a second, frame A which carries brushes D, which are located at various points along the length of said frame. These two frames A and A are adjustable relatively to. eachother. A desirable means for the adjustment comprise cams A on shafts A*, which shafts are journaled in bearings supported by the frame A. Said cams engage the under surface of the frame A and serve to raise and lower the same when they are turnedin one or the other direction by any suitable means (not necessary to show herein) connected with their said shafts. By this means the brushes may be adjusted to increase or diminish the pressure thereof upon the article being cleaned, according to the requirements of said article.

A third supporting-frame, E, is mounted above the frame A and has at its ends rolls F and F, the former of which is suspended from said frame with its lower surface approximately in the horizontal plane of the upper surface of the roll C by hangers F, while the roller F is suspended from said frame in a plane above that of the roll C at its end of the machine by means of hangers N, (shown in detail in Figs. 4: and 5.) the upper end of which is suitably secured to said frame E, and the lower end of which is provided with a bearing N for the journal of said roll F and also with a separate bearing N for the journal of a guide-roller F which is preferably located below the plane of said roller F Located intermediate of said rolls C and F at the delivery side of the machine and the rolls C, F and F at the receiving side of the machine are a series of guiding and supporting rolls G which are smaller than those first referred to and preferably are arranged in different planes higher than the same. These smaller rolls are most desirably supported upon antifriction-rolls R, which are preferably carried by supports V, (shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13,) each having a foot V for attaching it to the frame A and provided at its top with bearings V for the journals of said antifriction-rolls.

The several rolls described form guiding and supporting means for a pair of conveyers G and G Each of these conveyers is preferably composed of a series of cords (or their equivalents, such as ropes or chains) adapted to sustain and carry textile fabric in its progress through the machine, and the same preferably travel in annular grooves formed in the several rolls for guiding and protecting the same. In order that the cords may be kept taut under the weight of the article being conveyed thereby through the machine, each cord is preferably provided with a suitable tightening means, such as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, in which the lower cords G are shown as engaged by rollers T, each of which is supported bya yieldable barT which is attached at one end to the frame A and has its other end connected by a cord T with a weight T and each cord G of the upper conveyer is shown as kept taut by means substantially similar to those above set forth, the rollers T, however, engaging the under instead of the upper surface of the cords and the weight T beingabove instead of below the yieldable bar T and being connected with said bar by a cord T, which extends over a pulley T As the rollers are of considerable length,

each is preferably composed of a series of sec- 6 5 tions and supported by a journal-bearing engaging its shaft between each pair of sections.

The approved construction of roller C is shown in Fig. 15, in which 0 c designate two adjacent sections, which are kept apart in suitable relative position by means of flanged rings X, each of which is bolted to a section and is provided with an opening through which the shaft C of the roller extends, said shaft being supported between the pairs of sections by a bearing device W, having a head through which the shaft extends, and also having a foot W adapted to be attached to the frame A. The roller-sections are preferably suitably fixed to the shaft C and receive motion therefrom.

The preferred construction of sectional brush-roller and support therefor is shown in Fig. 14, in which S designates the body of the support, S the bearing for the brush-shaft, and S the foot by which the bearing device is attached to the frame A It will be understood that the carpet or other article to be cleaned is between and engaged by the cords G and G and it will be seen that the relative arrangement of the rolls is such as to give an arched conformation to the cords between the end rolls of the series and to hold the two series of cords G and G in proximity with each other, whereby the cords most efliciently hold the article to be cleaned, and when motion is imparted to the rolls by any suitable mechanism said article is positively fed through the machine.

The fabric to be cleaned is subjected to currents of rapidly-moving air in addition to the action of the brushes 1). The air is discharged against the article through side orilices formed in tubes H, H and H, which air issuiugfrom said orifices in streams and impinging against the fabric removes the dust raised by the brushes and also the dust within the interstices of the fabric not effectually removed by the brushes. These discharge tubes are mounted to reciprocate, whereby the streams of air are applied to all parts of the fabric as the same moves through the machine. A very desirable means for reciprocating and supporting each discharge-tube, which serves also to supply air to the same, is shown in Fig. 16, in which it will be seen that each tube projects from the upper end of an oscillatory frame, L, L and L respectively, each of which frames is composed of tubes through which the air is supplied to the respective discharge-tubes, and each frame including a pivotal connection M below,through which it is supplied with air by means, for example, of the supply-pipe M, having connection with a suitable source of air-supply. (Not necessary to show herein.) The dischargepipes have suitable connection with their respective frames, preferably by means of pivsuccessively or at different times, whereby the blasts from tubes H and H", which are located opposite each other, do not continually oppose each other, but for the most part blow through the carpet at different places; It is preferred to provide two air-tubes H and H below the fabric and one, H above the same. As hereinabove stated, the adjacent runs of the conveyers Gr and Gr are of arched conformation, and the brushes D and the air-tubes are arranged to operate on the carpet or other article along the plane of travel thereof.

What we claim as new and of our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. lnamachine for cleaning fabric, the combination with upper and lower flexible con- Veyers having means for keeping the same taut, and rollers forthe' conveyers, said. rollers being arranged to force the upper and lower conveyers into substantially the same working plane, of brushes arranged within one of said conveyers and contiguous to the plane of travel of the fabric, bearings for saidbrushes, a frame supporting said bearings and adjustable supporting means for said frame arranged at opposite ends of the same and adapted when adjusted to move said frame and brushes relatively to the conveyers.

2. A fabric-cleaning machine, comprising an upper, a lower and an intermediate frame, said intermediate frame being adjustable relatively to the other frames, an upper endless conveyer supported by the upper frame, a

I lower endless conveyer supported by the lower frame, means for causing the adjacent runs of said conveyers to be of arched conformation and to engage opposite sides of the fabric, fabric-cleaning means supported by said intermediate frame and arranged to operate on the fabric along the arched plane of travelv thereof, and adjustable supportingmeans engaging the'ends of said intermediate frame.

3. In a machine for cleaning fabrics,the combination of a conveying means, comprising an upper and a lower series of'cords and rollers for supporting and operating the same, said cords being arranged to engage opposite sides of the fabric and to tightly grip the same between them, means for keeping said upper and lower series of cords taut, a stationary supporting means for said rollers, brushes,

a movable bed carrying said brushes, and

means for adjusting said bed and brushes to change the degree of pressure exerted by said brushes on the fabric, substantially as de scribed.

4:. In a machine for cleaning fabrics, the combination of a conveying means comprising an upper and a lower series of cords having ad' jacent runs of arched conformation arranged to-engage opposite sides of the fabric, and

supporting and operating rollers for said cords, means connected withthe upper series of'cords for holding the same taut, means connected with the lower series of cords for holding the same taut, and a stationary supporting means 'for said rollers, brushes arranged in the arched portion of said conveyer, a movable bed carrying said brushes, reciprocatory air-tubes in the arched portion of said conveyer, and means for adjusting said bed and brushes to change the degree of pressure exerted by said brushes on the fabric,

substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands to th1s specification 1n the presence of two subscrlbmg w tnesses.

.GEORGE M. WILsoN,

A. L. DOROTHY. 

